On Edge
by avidreader72
Summary: Ranger has been in a foul mood. Can Stephanie help him out of it before the Merry Men mutiny? Established Babe. Rating for adult language, adult situations, and smut.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first work of FanFiction. Please review. I appreciate constructive criticism, so if you think this sucks, instead of just telling me it sucks, tell me why it sucks and what I can do to make it suck less.

Disclaimer: These characters all belong to Janet Evanovich. I don't like what she's been doing with them for several books so I'm taking them out to play myself. I will try to return them unharmed.

**Chapter 1**

SPOV

My office door was closed, but it wasn't hard to hear when Carlos, or Hurricane Ranger as several employees have taken to calling him, stormed through the 5th floor. The path of the storm started with a slammed office door. Boots stomping down the hallway followed. I winced when I heard Manny wish Carlos a good morning, and he responded "why the hell do you think this is a good morning?" I was ready to scramble under my desk just in case the storm decided to veer into my office. But the boots continued down the hall and I sighed in relief. I dropped my head into my hands and used my thumbs to try to rub the escalating tension from my throbbing temples. I was trying to refocus on reviewing the client file in front of me when a knock sounded on the closed door to my office. Before I could even respond, Les poked his head in.

"What's up, Beautiful? Hiding out from Bossman again?"

I scowled. "Get in here and shut the door before he sees it's open." I don't really want to be hiding out from Carlos, but his foul attitude from the last couple weeks made it a necessity. If his attitude doesn't change soon, I'm going to have to take drastic measures. I don't know quite what those drastic measures might be, but I can't continue to live with him snapping at me, my beloved Merry Men, or Ella. I just got off the phone with his mother, Maria. She let me know she called him to invite us to dinner on Sunday and he snapped at her too. She wanted to make sure I knew about the invitation, so I could pressure him to attend.

Les pushed the door open a bit more to slip in and my eyes widened at the sight of Tank, Bobby, and Ella following him in. Les plopped himself in one of my visitor chairs and looked over at me. "No worries. Ranger just left. He'll be off-site for a few hours, meeting with the lawyers…again."

My body noticeably relaxed at that news. "I love you guys, but I'm guessing there's a reason for your visit?"

My four friends looked at each other, doing some of that ESP communication I have yet to master. After a couple seconds, it seems Bobby was elected to be the spokesperson for the group.

"We're worried about Ranger, and we're worried about the impact his mood is having on everyone at RangeMan."

I leaned back in my office chair and let out a huge sigh. I resisted the urge to reply "no shit, Sherlock" and roll my eyes. Just then, they all burst out laughing.

"Out loud?" I winced.

"Yes, out loud, Bomber," Bobby chuckled.

I responded more appropriately, "I know, Bobby. I'm worried too. And it's not just us here. His mom called me earlier. He snapped at her too this morning. I don't know what to do. You have all known him longer than I have. Don't you have any ideas?"

They all grimaced, and Les spoke up. "He snapped at Mama Manoso and is still breathing? I guess it's a good thing it was a phone call and not in person. If it was in person, she would have smacked him." Three other heads bobbed in agreement.

Tank spoke up next. "He and I have been meeting on the mats every morning for the past two weeks. It doesn't seem to be helping his mood at all."

"I've been making all his favorite foods," Ella chimed in. "You would know better than I would, but it appears he's barely touching his meals. I'm so fed up with him I'm ready to start lacing his food with butter and sugar just to teach him a lesson."

Bobby dropped his head a bit. "It might help if he would meet with a psychiatrist. I think a full doctor who could combine meds with therapy would be best, but I don't see Ranger agreeing to that."

"So it seems we've identified all the things that aren't working. Why are you here talking to me? I haven't had any more luck than the rest of you in getting his attitude turned around."

Three of the four faces in front of me suddenly appeared very uncomfortable. The only one who didn't was Les, and he was sporting one of his trademark shit-eating grins. Les made eye contact with the others and tilted his head towards the door, signaling them to leave. Once the door had closed behind them, Les leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on my desk. I promptly reached over and shoved them off.

Les's feet hit the floor and he leaned forward. "So tell me what's going on with you and Ranger. Have you cut him off? Is he having performance issues?"

"What?" I practically screeched. "No, he's not having performance issues! Why do you think I've cut him off? And why do you think it's okay to ask me about my sex life with Ranger?" I gave him my best Burg death glare.

Les responded with one of his lop-sided grins and a waggle of his eyebrows. Unfortunately, he's immune to my death glares. "Just asking because even though the media circus is over, and our reputation is intact, or even improved in some circles, Ranger's mood hasn't recovered. Everyone is trying to avoid him. So the only thing we could think of was that he wasn't getting any 'relief' from you for one reason or another. Stress is known to impact a man's ability to perform so it's not totally out of the realm of possibilities."

"We? As in who? You, Tank, Bobby, and Ella have been speculating on our sex life?" My voice raised at least two octaves, and I was well on my way to rhino mode. "Ugh, Les. You are incorrigible."

"Well…not just the four of us. Pretty much all of RangeMan has been assuming he's in a bad mood because he's not getting any."

I hid my face in my hands. The entire company was discussing my and Carlos's sex life? Ugh! "No, I haven't cut him off…yet. And I don't know why he's still so moody."

"Yet? So you might be cutting him off in the future?"

My head shot up, and I glared at Les. "If he continues to snap at me for no good reason, then I have to do something. And I'm stuck on what I can do to help him out of this."

Les paused and got a thoughtful look on his face. He raised one eyebrow at me and tilted his head. "I have an idea, but I'm not sure you'll like it."

"Please, Les! I'm desperate for ideas. We are finally getting our someday and I don't want to lose it over this mess with what happened."

"You know, Beautiful, it's not fair that Ranger has been taking out his frustrations on you, or any of the rest of us. We were all hurt by what happened. Binkie most of all. But you took a lot of the brunt of the fallout being the client relations person. You were the one that had to field all the calls from clients concerned about the allegations. Thanks to all your hard work, we didn't lose a single client over the incident. Not to mention the fact that you were the one with the foresight to ensure we had the video evidence we needed to shut down the allegations so quickly. Ranger should be kissing your ass, not snapping your head off."

"I know, Les, but it wasn't easy for him either. RangeMan is his baby and having its name dragged through the mud for those couple days was excruciating. Thankfully, we had all the video and could refute the allegations. Now, it's time to move on. What can I do to get him to let go of all that anger and frustration? You said you had an idea."

"Since you haven't cut him off, it's obvious your regular activities aren't cutting through the tension. So what I'm thinking is you need to up your game."

"Up my game? Les! I'm a white girl from the Burg. Vanilla is my specialty. What do you mean by "upping my game"?

"I thought you didn't want to discuss your sex life with me."

"I don't, but you're the one who brought it up. I need solutions. So what did you have in mind?"

"I don't have specifics in mind. I just think you need to do something to rock his world. And when I was down at the bonds office picking up the RangeMan files, Lula happened to mention that Caroline Scarzolli was FTA again. Maybe Lula needs a little help with that."

I narrowed my eyes at Les, wadded a piece of paper and and threw it at him. It bounced off his chest and fell to the floor. "Get out of my office. I need to work."

Les just gave me another grin, unfolded himself from the chair and exited my office, closing the door behind him. I sat staring at the door for a few minutes, pondering the information.

Batman and I had finally gotten our act together and committed to a full-time relationship about eight months ago. And shortly after, the Core Team cornered me one day when I dropped in to eat lunch with Ranger. They sat me down in a conference room and stuck a contract in front of me. With all the growth they'd been experiencing, they needed someone to help with client-relations and sales. Apparently, it was a unanimous decision that I was the perfect person for the job, and they weren't going to let me say no. The salary being offered was beyond generous, and I'd been thinking about making a career change. I just couldn't continue to live month to month, wondering if there would be enough skips to pay my rent and buy Rex hamster nuggets.

I had resisted previous offers of full-time employment at RangeMan performing searches. I'd die of boredom within a month. The new job had me helping with searches, but they weren't my primary duties. I'd be able to get out of the office to meet with current and potential clients. Why didn't I say yes immediately? That would be the clause about completing all the physical fitness, self-defense, and firearms training and qualifying by meeting RangeMan's standards. Eek! I didn't like my gun and I was allergic to running. Bobby assured me that he'd help me set up a fitness plan that minimized running and utilized other cardiovascular activities to increase my physical fitness. Les promised he would be the one to train me on self-defense, and Tank chimed in that he'd be happy to spend some time at the gun range with me.

I told them I'd think about it. The offer was a good one. Then Carlos said it was time for lunch and we retreated to the 7th floor apartment to see what Ella had made for us. That lunch ended up being an extension of contract negotiations as Carlos demonstrated all the perks of coming to work for him. Two hours later, I felt boneless from the multiple Carlos-induced orgasms and was ready to sign anything to keep lunches like that happening on a regular basis.

I teased Carlos that I could report him to HR for sexual harassment, but he reminded me that Les was in charge of HR. Did I really want to have to describe all the details of the harassment to Les? He knew he had me there. I pointed out that perhaps Les wasn't the best choice for head of HR. Carlos agreed with me and said they'd rewrite my contract to include HR duties. I dodged that bullet when I told him that if I was in charge of HR, I'd have to stop sleeping with the boss. At that, he tabled any further discussion of adding HR to my duties.

It may have been the Carlos-induced orgasms that sealed the deal on me coming to work for RangeMan, but the chocolate cake Ella provided with that lunch certainly hadn't hurt.

Two months ago, I'd finally given up the lease on my apartment and moved in on the 7th floor. And things had been great, until two weeks ago. Now if we could just get everything back to normal so I could once again enjoy living with the one man I can't live without.

I think Les is right. I need to switch things up in order to get Batman's mind off the events of the last two weeks and help him regain his normally calm demeanor. Lula might be just the person I need to speak to. She might be able to offer some "professional" advice on what I can do to rock his world.

But before I call Lula, there is something else I need to do. I reach down into my contraband drawer. I've been keeping this well-stocked during the past couple weeks. Over the years I've known Ranger and the Merry Men, I've been able to pick up small tidbits of information on them all. One thing I've learned about almost every Merry Man is what his favorite candy is. Somehow it seems fitting that Les's favorite candy is Whoppers. Bobby's is Raisinettes. I suppose that has something to do with at least getting a little fruit with your candy. Tank surprised me by favoring Good & Plenty candies. Ranger doesn't really have a favorite candy, except that I discovered he really enjoys dark chocolate sauce but apparently only when it's applied to my body so I don't think that counts. A shiver ran up my spine at that memory.

I finally find what I'm looking for. Manny has a thing for York Peppermint Patties. I pull one out and head to my door. Even though Les said Ranger was gone and would be off-site for a while, I still cautiously opened my door and peeked out to see if Hurricane Ranger was lurking around. Not seeing him, I headed out into the hallway and down to Manny's cubicle.

"Knock knock," I said when I arrived.

Manny turned around and gave me a half-hearted smile. It made me sad to see him less than his usual self. I held the peppermint patty out to him. "It really is a good morning."

"Thanks, Steph."

"What? You're not going to call me Wifey today?"

Manny dropped his head down for a second before looking up at me. "No, with the mood Ranger's been in, I'm afraid I might end up six feet under in the Pine Barrens if he heard me call you Wifey."

I sighed. "I hope he gets turned around soon. In the meantime, he's off-site with the lawyers so come let me give you a hug."

Manny stood and wrapped me in a big bear hug. "I don't know what we would do without you, Steph."

"Probably not have to run as much to work off the candy I give you."

Manny laughed and a full smile returned to his face. I let Manny get back to work. I had another task to complete.

When I made it back to my office, I closed the door again. I picked up my phone and dialed Lula.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews on the first chapter. I was going to wait to post the next chapter until this weekend, but decided to go ahead and post it tonight. I have through chapter 6 written, but I keep making changes. I thought I was totally done with chapter 3 and decided tonight that there was something else it needed, so I'm writing more on that. I promise you will eventually find out what happened to get Ranger in his mood, but the full explanation is still a few chapters off. This is an M rated story, and while this chapter doesn't contain any smut, it does make reference to adult activities. Just so you're warned.

Disclaimer: These characters all belong to Janet Evanovich. I don't like what she's been doing with them for several books so I'm taking them out to play myself. I will try to return them unharmed.

**Chapter 2**

SPOV

_When I made it back to my office, I closed the door again. I picked up my phone and dialed Lula. _

"Hey, white girl! Why you makin' yourself so scarce around here? I miss you."

"Hey, Lula. It's just been hectic dealing with all the clients' questions after what happened. Les mentioned Caroline Scarzolli was FTA again. What would you think about meeting up for lunch then I could help you pick her up?"

"Girl, that sounds perfect! I'm craving some chicken. Whatta you say we meet at Cluck in a Bucket at noon and then head over to Pleasures Treasures?"

"Sounds good. I'll meet you alone for lunch because I have something I want your advice on, but I'll need Les to join us after when we go pick up Caroline. RangeMan rules, you know. I have to have a RangeMan partner with me anytime I go to pick up an FTA."

"No problem, white girl. I know Batman doesn't want you taking chances. And I don't mind having Les along. He's no Tank, but he is one fine specimen of a man."

"Okay, I'll see you at noon." And I disconnected the call. I stood up and tiptoed over to the door. I hadn't heard Hurricane Ranger blow back through, so I thought it was safe, but I still wanted to be careful. I peeked into the hallway, and not seeing Carlos, I quickly moved down the hall and popped my head into Les's office. "So Les, can you meet Lula and me at 1:00 at Pleasures Treasures?"

"Sure thing, Beautiful. Maybe we can get some shopping in before you apprehend Caroline." Les wagged his eyebrows again. I groaned and went back to my office to continue reviewing client files.

* * *

Noon came quickly, and Lula was waiting for me in her Firebird when I pulled my CRV into a parking spot at Cluck in a Bucket. The CRV came with the job, and apparently parking karma came with the vehicle. Since I started driving it, I was able to get front row parking spots almost every time. Ranger wanted to get me a Cayenne, but I asked for something a little less flashy and not black. I lobbied for the red called "molten lava", but that was a little too far out of Ranger's comfort zone for a RangeMan vehicle so we compromised on the "obsidian blue".

Lula came over as I was getting out of my SUV and grabbed me in a bone-crushing hug. "How you doin', white girl? Everything getting back to normal over there?"

I let out a sigh. "A lot is back to normal, but some isn't. Let's talk after we get our food," I told her as I opened the door to the restaurant and let Lula enter.

We placed our orders and carried the food to a table in the far corner. I wanted a little privacy for the conversation I needed to have with Lula.

Lula pulled a piece of chicken from the bucket and looked at me. "So spill. What is it you need my advice on? Clothes? Shoes? Hair color? You thinking of going red again?"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a piece of chicken for myself. "No. It more of a professional matter."

"Professional matter? Girl, why you asking me? You taught me everything I know about bounty hunting. And if you need professional advice on that, Batman is the one you should be talking to."

I cringed. "Not that profession."

Lula's eyes got wide. "Oh, you're talking about my prior profession. Why you need advice from me about that?"

"Well, it's one of those things that hasn't returned to normal around RangeMan." Oh, I was so far out of my comfort level on this. I suddenly became very interested in the chicken breast sitting in front of me.

"Are you tellin' me that Batman is having trouble performing and you need help on enticing him? You should know that stress can hurt a man's performance in the bedroom."

"Oh no. Not that. It's just Ranger's been in a bad mood ever since everything happened. He's been difficult to be around. He's short-tempered and taking his anger and frustration out on everyone around him. Tank's been taking him to the mats every morning. Bobby wants him to see a psychiatrist and start on medication. Ella said she's so fed up with him she's ready to lace his food with butter and sugar. I'm hiding out in my office with the door closed. This can't go on much longer or the Merry Men will mutiny. He snapped at Manny this morning for wishing him a good morning."

"And soooooooo? What type of advice are you looking for here?"

I felt my cheeks start to flame. "Les thinks I need to do something to 'rock Ranger's world' in order to get all the tension and frustration out. Lula, look at me. Do I look like the type of woman that could 'rock Batman's world'? I need help here!"

Lula gave me an appraising look. "Yes, white girl. You do. Don't you get it? You already rock his world. But what you need is to create 9.0 magnitude earthquake type of rockin'. Some self-confidence, a sense of adventure, and some props are what you need. And I think having the right props will help with the first two. Come on. Let's finish up this lunch and head over to Pleasures Treasures. We can pick up some necessities before we haul Caroline in."

* * *

Les was waiting for us in a black Ford Explorer outside Pleasures Treasures when we arrived. He got out of the SUV and started toward the front door with us. I stopped and turned.

"Les, we have some shopping to do before we apprehend Caroline. Wait in the SUV and I'll text you once we're done with the shopping portion of this trip."

"What? Beautiful, I was planning on helping you pick out the items for your big night. Don't you trust me to steer you in the right direction?" Les grinned and did the eyebrow waggle.

"Ugh! No, I don't trust you. Besides, how do you think Ranger would react if he knew you were shopping with us here? Wait in the SUV. I promise I won't try to apprehend Caroline without you there."

Les looked a little dejected but agreed to wait for us. I think he was mostly worried about what a session on the mats would be like with Ranger in the kind of mood he's been in. Lula held the door for me. "Let's do some shopping." She was just a little too enthusiastic about this for my comfort.

As soon as we walked through the door, we were greeted by Caroline and her sawed off shotgun. "You two bounty hunters here to take me back to jail? Well, you better rethink that. I'm not going."

Lula spoke up first. "No. Right now, we're here to do some shoppin'. White girl here is having some issues with her man and needs some items to help him release some tension."

Caroline eyed me suspiciously. "I thought you were with Ranger? What's the deal? You go back to the cop again?"

"No! I'm not back with Morelli," I practically shouted, exasperated that everyone wanted to know my business.

"So it's Ranger that's having performance issues?" Caroline questioned.

Geez! This again. "Yes, I'm with Ranger. But no, he's not having performance issues. What is it with you people? Is that the only reason you can think of that I might need some help here?"

Caroline lowered the shotgun and stowed it under the counter. "Vibrators are 20% off and DVDs are 2 for 1. Let me know if you need help finding something."

I turned to Lula and began to push her down an aisle. "Alright. Help me out," I whispered. "What are we looking for here? What's the plan?"

Lula's face lit up with a grin. "Well, my idea is that Batman is all about control. And with everything that's been going on, he's probably been on control overload."

"Yeah. And so what do we do about it?"

"Let me guess. There's a pair of handcuffs in your bedside table."

Oh dear Lord. Just let the earth open and swallow me up. I didn't think my face could get any redder. Guess what? It can. "Yes, there's a pair of cuffs there. And?"

"Let me also guess that you've been the only one ever locked up in those cuffs."

The carpet in here is suddenly very interesting. "Yes," I admit softly while toeing a seam in the carpet.

"Well, it's time for Ranger to give up some of that control. It's time for him to be the one in cuffs." Lula marched down one of the aisles and stood in front of a large display of handcuffs and other restraints. My jaw dropped. I never knew there was so much variety in ways to restrain people.

"Uh Lula? Why are we looking at handcuffs here? I've got access to a nearly unlimited supply of handcuffs back at RangeMan. It's not really something I need to buy."

"Girl. You can't use standard cuffs on Ranger. For what you're going to do to him, he's going to be pulling against those cuffs with all he's got. You put him in standard cuffs and his wrists are going to be cut and bruised by the time you're done with him. You need something with some padding so that gorgeous mocha latte skin of his isn't marked up."

Lula held up a pair of sheep-skin lined cuffs. "Here! These will do the trick."

"How exactly am I supposed to get him in these things? It's not like he's going to volunteer to let me put those on him."

Lula pondered the question for a moment. "If he won't cooperate, stun him," she shrugged.

"What?" My voice went up an octave. "You want me to stun Ranger? Are you insane? I like living, and I don't want to end up in a box being shipped to some third world country."

"Girlfriend, you need some confidence in yourself. Trust me on this. When you're done with him, Ranger is never going to let you go. No way would he ship you off someplace. Besides, I'll bet you a dozen Boston Cremes that he will let you put these on him."

Hmm… a dozen Boston Cremes sounded really appealing right now. And I'll need them once Carlos throws me out of his apartment for this stunt. "Fine. We'll get the cuffs. But I still don't have a clear vision on what I'm supposed to do to him."

"Girl! Seriously! You've got to stop worrying about this. Some of it, I can give you pointers on, but some of it is just doing what comes naturally."

"Okay. What's next?"

Lula handed me the cuffs and took off down another aisle. Next thing I knew we were standing in front of an impressive array of items that scare the hell out of me. "Lula, you know I don't do butt stuff," I hissed. "I'm not buying any of this."

"This isn't for Ranger to use on you. This is for you to use on Ranger. And trust me, he'll love it."

"Yeah, Beautiful. Trust her on this."

I jumped and let out a little yelp as Les's voice came from behind me. I hid my face in my hands, too embarrassed to look at Les. "Les," I hissed. "What are you doing in here? I told you to wait in the SUV until I texted you."

Les shrugged. "You've been in here a while. I started to get worried about you." Les noticed the cuffs in my hands and grinned. "Looks like you've got a good start here." Then he pulled an item from the rack in front of us. "Here. Get these. These will definitely rock his world."

I looked at what Les had chosen. I wasn't even completely sure what to do with them. I mean I had a pretty good guess, but I think I was going to have to Google.

Lula saw the uncertainty on my face and whispered to me, "Don't worry. I'll give you some tips later when Les isn't around." I gulped, trying to remove the lump that had formed in my throat.

Then Les spoke up again, "Oh. You might need this too." He tossed me a bottle of lube. I am in so far over my head here.

I looked at Lula. "Do you think this is enough for what I need to do?"

Lula thought for a second. "Yeah, I think this will do for now."

Les apparently didn't agree because he popped around the corner from the aisle he'd disappeared into. "Get these too," he said, holding up a package.

"What are those?" I squeaked. The package contained something that looked like two pairs of tweezers connected by a silver chain.

"Nipple clamps. They will drive Bossman wild."

I think I started hyperventilating at that point. "No thanks, Les. You can put those back."

"Oh man, you don't know what you're missing out on, Beautiful" Les replied as he ducked back into the other aisle to return the package.

We headed for the front of the store to check out and passed by a rack of flavored massage oils. I stopped to peruse the flavors and picked up a bottle of strawberry and a bottle of vanilla.

Caroline looked at my purchases and raised one eyebrow. Seriously? Why is it everyone and their brother can do that but I can't? She rang everything up and bagged it without comment. Les hadn't come with us to the check out counter and now I could see why. He was positioning himself to come in behind Caroline and grab her before she could reach for the shotgun under the counter.

Once I had the bag in hand, Lula began her spiel. "Caroline Scarzolli, you are in violation of your bond agreement. We're here to take you in to reschedule." Les moved quickly and had her in handcuffs before it even registered with Caroline that we'd just switch course.

"Dammit! You told me you were just here to shop. I should know better than to trust you two," Caroline spit out.

Lula smiled and said, "I told you we were here to shop at that moment, and we were. Now that the shopping is done, we have to take care of business."

Les hustled Caroline out the door to the waiting SUV. I could have sworn I felt my neck tingle as we exited the store, but I looked around and didn't see Ranger anywhere. I must be imagining it.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you for all the positive reviews on this story. I'm really blown away by your encouragement. You get to hear from Ranger this chapter, but the details of what happened to put him in such a bad mood are still a few chapters away. You will find out why Steph's neck tingled outside Pleasures Treasures. I don't really know how optical bugs work other than what I learned from one episode of Burn Notice, so I don't know if what I describe is really correct. This is a work of fiction, so it really doesn't matter that much if I have it correct. It works for the story.

Disclaimer: These characters still belong to Janet Evanovich.

**Chapter 3**

RPOV

Yet another meeting with our attorneys. At least I came away from this one feeling calmer and more assured that the nightmare of the last couple weeks is drawing to a close. And it's a good thing that feeling is coming now. If things went on any longer, I'm not sure there would be anyone left in my life still willing to speak to me.

It has been a rough couple of weeks, and I know I have been on edge. The stress of the national media firestorm, however brief, had taken a toll. I've been irritable and brusque with my men, my Babe, and Lord help me, even my mother. It really wasn't fair to any of them. We had all been hurt by the events that had occurred and the accusations that followed. Which made the fact that I'd been taking my frustrations out on those around me reprehensible. It was my conversation with my mother this morning that finally knocked some sense into me. Her words had been stuck on repeat in my head for the last few hours, and their meaning was finally starting to resonate. I'd given serious consideration to what she'd said and vowed to let go of the frustration and anger I'd been harboring and treat those around me with the respect they deserve.

Mama called to invite Steph and me to dinner on Sunday. She thought we could use some time away from Trenton. She wasn't wrong, but Newark isn't that far from Trenton and the publicity of what had happened had gone national. I'd snapped at her that there was no escape and we had too much going on to come to Sunday dinner. Unfortunately for me, no one snaps at Mama Manoso and gets away with it. She'd lit into me with a ferociousness I hadn't felt directed my way in years, and it took but a moment for me to feel like I was six years old once again and being reprimanded for denting Papa's car with a baseball. I offered an apology, but her next words chilled me. She asked if I spoke to Steph that way. I'd admitted that I had been snippy with Babe over the past couple weeks. I didn't fess up that Babe had taken to closing her office door to avoid me. That confession definitely would not have gone over well with Mama.

Mama asked me when I was going to put a ring on Steph's finger, and did I really think she'd want to accept a ring if I was so ill-tempered towards her. I don't want to imagine losing Babe now due to my bad temper after everything we've gone through to finally reach our Someday. Mama's dressing down made me realize I needed to regain my legendary control over my emotions. And I needed to make amends to several people for how I'd been acting. First and foremost were three of the four most important women in my life: Babe, Mama, and Ella. All three would be receiving very large floral arrangements tomorrow. Luckily, I haven't let the most important young woman in my life, Julie, experience my ill temper.

As I drove back to Haywood, my mind was sorting through the things I needed to do and prioritizing. First on my list was finding Stephanie and apologizing to her for the way I've been acting. Hell, apologizing wasn't enough to make up for all I'd done. I was going to have to grovel at her feet and beg for her forgiveness. It was the least I could do.

I parked the Turbo in its spot next to the elevators and took the stairs up to the 5th floor. As I came out of the stairwell, I glanced over and was relieved to see Babe's door open. But when I walked over to her office to talk to her, it was empty. Damn, she must out at a client meeting, but I didn't think she had anything on her calendar for today. I strode down the hallway to the control room. Woody and Vince were manning the monitors.

"Where's Steph?" I demanded. Both men hesitated and glanced sideways at each other, as if they were negotiating who was going to answer me. I guess Woody drew the mental short straw as he squirmed and answered that she was currently at Cluck in a Bucket. I wasn't sure why that was making them so uncomfortable. I know I'm fanatic about my own eating habits, but everyone knows Babe has her own set of nutritional guidelines. Steph wouldn't go to Cluck in a Bucket on her own for lunch on a workday. I had a feeling I knew who she was eating lunch with.

"Is she there with Lula?" I inquired. Vince responded this time, confirming my suspicions.

"Anything else I need to know?" Something wasn't sitting right about their discomfort at answering me, and I needed to find out what else was going on.

Vince was the one to respond again. "Les told us he was meeting Bomber and Lula at Pleasures Treasures after their lunch. The owner, Caroline Scarzolli is FTA again."

Now I understood why they were uncomfortable relaying Babe's plans. Lula, Babe, and Les at Pleasures Treasures was a recipe for disaster. I knew where I was headed next. I was going to be staking out Pleasures Treasures to make sure all went smoothly. I turned to head out but remembering my vow to change how I was treating the people around me, I slowed for a second to call out a "thanks." I glanced over my shoulder and saw two jaws drop open and a look exchanged that clearly indicated their shock at being thanked. Hmmm… maybe I need to say that more often.

I debated taking the Turbo, but instead chose one of the fleet black Explorers when I got to the garage. I didn't want Babe to see I was checking up on her, and the Turbo was just too conspicuous. I checked Steph's trackers on my phone and saw they were just now leaving Cluck in a Bucket. It appeared Les was already onsite. I would be arriving a few minutes after the women would, which seemed like a good plan since they would already be in the store when I pulled up and they wouldn't see me spying on them.

I exited the garage and pointed the Explorer in the direction of Pleasures Treasures. When I was a half a block from the store, I slowed and pulled to the curb. Lula, Babe, and Les were all standing on the sidewalk in front of the store. I was too far away to hear exactly what they were saying, but it became clear that Steph was ordering Les to stay outside. Les returned to the Explorer and stood leaning against it as the two ladies entered the store. I wasn't too happy at seeing Les stay back. Caroline Scarzolli is known to keep a sawed off shotgun under her counter and has pulled it on Babe before. I pulled my Explorer forward and parked it across the street from the front of the store, and across the street from the Explorer Les was driving. His eyes widened when he saw me pull up, and he paled a little. Pushing himself off the SUV, he crossed the street to my vehicle.

"Why aren't you in there with them?" I saw no point in beating around the bush. He knew exactly what I'd be thinking.

"They said they had some shopping to do first and would text me when they were ready to apprehend Scarzolli."

Shopping? I was confused. I thought they were here to pick up a skip. Now I was really worried. What were those two doing? "Get in there, Les. You know how quickly things can go sideways when Steph is involved."

"Will do, Boss," Les answered. He appeared to be almost smirking. Did he know something I didn't about why Steph and Lula were there to shop? But he quickly moved to the front door of the store and paused there. His hand hovered briefly over his gun before his arm relaxed at his side and he opened the door to head in.

In the meantime, I reached into the lockbox under the seat and pulled out a sophisticated piece of surveillance equipment, an optical bug. I just needed to point it at a window to listen in on conversations taking place inside the building. We'd picked up several of these last year when we were assisting the FBI on a human trafficking investigation. I'd been impressed with their performance and versatility and decided to add some to our inventory of surveillance equipment.

I turned on the equipment and started to pick up the conversation going on inside the store. I heard the FTA inform Babe and Lula that DVDs were 2 for 1. A few adjustments were necessary on the equipment, but then I was picking up Steph and Lula loud and clear. Steph definitely seemed nervous as she asked Lula to explain her plan. I was intrigued and wanted to know Lula's plan as well. I chuckled at Lula's accurate assessment of my current state and our bedroom activities, as well as Steph's discomfort discussing it. When Lula told Steph that she needed to reverse our roles, my cargos suddenly got a little tight. So "the plan" involved something Lula was coaching Babe to do to me. I suppose I should be upset that Babe and Lula were discussing our sex life, but the picture in my mind of Steph taking control and restraining me in cuffs was so hot I couldn't bring myself to care. Woah. Hold on a sec. I didn't want to be on the receiving end of Babe's stun gun. Thank god Babe dismissed that idea outright. I won't resist when she cuffs me. Well, maybe I'll have to put up at least a token protest. I wouldn't want her to realize I'd found out her plans ahead of time.

Now what were they up to? Hold it? What did Babe just say? Did she just say something about "butt stuff"? Hearing Lula's answer, I must have heard correctly. Holy hell, I had to adjust myself to relieve some of the discomfort my pants were causing. Lula was encouraging Babe to expand her horizons into an area I'd always thought was completely off-limits for Babe. I'd never thought to encourage Babe to explore that area on me because she'd always seemed so closed off to the idea. Maybe this would open up some new avenues of exploration for Babe.

Shit! Lester's in there. What was I thinking telling him to go in before they were ready to apprehend the FTA! Crap. I didn't have the full picture of what was going on when I told him to get in there. No wonder Babe ordered him to stay outside. Damn! I'm sure I'm going to have to put up with some uncomfortable innuendo from my cousin about this. I'll definitely have to call him to the mats to keep a lid on his comments. Hold on…. Nipple clamps? I felt a grin spread across my face hearing Babe's reaction. I really wish I could be in there to see her face right now. I'm sure it's approaching fire engine red. Too bad she shot down Lester's suggestion. It definitely would have been a fun addition to our night.

I can tell they are headed to check out. That means they will be emerging soon with the FTA. I start the Explorer and head to the next cross street. I pause for a minute to make sure they all make it out of the store with the FTA in custody. Seeing that they do, I head back to Haywood, eagerly awaiting the end of the work day.

LPOV

I directed Caroline Scarzolli out the door and into my Explorer. Lula and Beautiful were a few steps behind me. I glanced around as I exited the store and saw Ranger's SUV disappear around the corner. Suddenly it hit me. Oh shit! He probably pulled out one of the optical bugs and listened in on us. Oh FUCK! I'm a dead man. The best I can hope for is Beautiful wears him out tonight and he won't be at the top of his game when he calls me to the mats tomorrow morning. If his mood isn't improved after tonight, I don't think I'll survive a meeting on mats, at least not without permanent damage. Damn!

Beautiful asked me to take Caroline to the cop shop and get the body receipt for Lula. She said it was because they had to go pick up Lula's Firebird at Cluck in a Bucket, which wasn't wrong, but I got the impression Beautiful wanted to get Lula alone again to discuss the finer points of the plan. I was more than happy to do so. I was already going to get called to the mats for what happened in the store. I'd hate to think what Ranger would do to me if he found out I was discussing the details of what he and Beautiful were going to be doing later on.

After dropping Caroline at the TPD and the body receipt at the bonds office, I headed back to Haywood with a feeling of dread in my stomach. Would Ranger even let me live until tomorrow? He may just kill me this afternoon for my part in the shopping trip. Maybe he would be lenient and only maim me since it would be really uncomfortable at the family Thanksgiving dinner if he killed me. Plus, I was staying outside like Beautiful had asked. It was Ranger that ordered me to go in the store. Of course, going in the store didn't mean I had to participate in the selection of items to be purchased. Fuck. I'm screwed in the worst way.

I parked in the underground garage and made my way to the stairs. I was more than half expecting Ranger to meet me in the stairwell and order me to the gym so he could exact his revenge. I slowly trudged up the stairs, surprised when I passed the third floor and Ranger hadn't appeared. Maybe he hadn't come back to the office yet. Maybe he was preparing a grave for me out in the Pine Barrens. I pushed the door open to the 5th floor and turned towards my office. I was surprised to see Ranger sitting at his desk in his office, and even more surprising was the expression on his face. It wasn't a smile, but the scowl that had been present for the past two weeks was missing. Hmmm… that's interesting.

I wasn't going to test his mood, so I hurried into my office and shut the door. No sooner than I'd sat down at my desk, my phone rang. I glanced at the screen and answered the call.

"Hi, Beautiful. I dropped the body receipt off with Connie."

"Thanks, Les. I'm on my way back to the office, and I have a favor to ask."

"Anything. What can I do for you?"

"Where's Ranger right now?"

"He's in his office. Why?" The feeling of dread was starting to reappear in my stomach.

"I need to stash my purchases in the apartment, and I'm afraid he'll catch me before I can get them hidden. Could you keep him busy while I go up to the apartment?"

Ugh! When I told Beautiful anything, I really meant anything but subject myself to Ranger. I can't say no to her though. She's too special to us all, so I really will do anything she asks. I tried to keep my voice light and not let on how much I was dreading what she'd asked of me.

"Sure. No problem, Beautiful. I'll head over to his office now."

"Thanks, Les. I'll owe you."

I disconnected and thought, yes, you definitely owe me for this one. I really hope she has some Whoppers in her candy drawer.

I got up from my desk and headed over to Ranger's office. Maybe I should double check that my life insurance beneficiaries are up to date. Too late. Ranger saw me approach his door and waved me in.

"Hey man, how'd it go with the attorneys this morning?" I asked as I plopped down in one of his visitor chairs.

"It went well."

I waited a couple beats for more info, but it became obvious that was all that Ranger would share. I wasn't sure what to say next. I just sat there. He looked at me for a few seconds, waiting to see what I was going to say, then went back to the paperwork in front of him. I sat there, looking around the office and felt myself humming a tune. It took me a second before I realized the tune I was humming was The Beatles "With a Little Help from my Friends." That tune seemed oddly appropriate for the day.

Ranger dropped his pen on the desk and asked tersely, "is there something I can help you with, Les?"

"Nope, I think I'm good."

"Then why are you still here?"

"No reason." Ranger seemed in a better mood. If this happened this morning, I'd already have been tossed out of his office on my ass by now. Instead, he seems barely affected. And he hasn't called me to the mats yet. Maybe I will live to see another day.

"Then you can leave."

"Nope. No can do." I know I was poking the bear, but I'd promised Beautiful I'd keep him occupied until she was done upstairs. I hadn't seen her emerge from the elevator yet and she hadn't sent a text. Until one or the other happened, or until Ranger physically removed me from his office, I was going to stay right here.

"And why not?" The scowl that was absent when I first came in was growing back.

"Because I promised someone I'd keep you occupied in your office."

"And that someone was Stephanie, wasn't it?"

"It might have been," I couldn't hold back a grin.

Ranger shot me a glare and picked up his pen again. I went back to humming the tune, and the pen slammed down on the desk.

"Santos!"

Oops! I may have overplayed my hand. Luckily, at that moment the elevator dinged and Beautiful stepped out. It was time to make my escape, and just in the nick of time it seems.

"Well, I'd best be going." I jumped out of the chair and was halfway out the door when I heard Ranger growl.

"Santos. Mats. Tomorrow."

Shit! And I was beginning to think I'd escaped that. I didn't even turn around to face him. "I know. 0500. I'll be there," I replied with a dejected tone in my voice.

"No. Make it 1300."

"1300?" I turned around. I was surprised by the time Ranger had chosen. He always schedules mat time in the early morning hours.

"If you were in my shoes, would you be planning to be out of bed at 0500 tomorrow?"

With that, the corners of his mouth turned up ever so slight. It was what Beautiful refers to has his thinking about smiling smile.

I laughed. "No, I wouldn't be planning that at all." And with that, I hightailed it out of there.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Let's face it. A lot of you are reading this story because I promised you smut. So enjoy this chapter. This is my first time writing smut so please be gentle with the reviews.

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Janet Evanovich and not me. If they belonged to me, there would be a lot more scenes in the books like the one you will read below.

**Chapter 4**

SPOV

After we'd apprehended Caroline, I asked Les to drop her off at the TPD and get the body receipt for Lula. I wanted to have some time to talk to Lula without interruption. I drove Lula back to Cluck in a Bucket to pick up her Firebird, and along the way she gave me her best tutorial on what to do with Carlos tonight. By the time Lula drove off, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to do, but I still wanted more information. I called Les on my way back to Haywood to find out where Carlos was. I needed to hide my purchases in the apartment and the last thing I wanted was to be surprised by Carlos before I was able to do so. Les confirmed that Carlos was in his office on the 5th floor and promised to keep him busy there until I made it back down to my office.

I parked and hightailed it to the elevator, fobbing myself to the 7th floor. Then I was faced with a dilemma. Where to hide my goodies? If I put them in the bedside drawer, Carlos might find them. If I hid them in the dresser, what if Ella had clothes to put away and found them? I'd never be able to face her again. I removed everything from its packaging and stashed it all in a bag under the bed to retrieve later. Satisfied my secrets were safe for now, I went back down to 5 and quickly hid in my office with the door shut again.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I grabbed my phone to do the additional research for tonight. No way was I going to Google this stuff on my RangeMan laptop. I'm sure Hector wouldn't rat me out to Carlos, but I didn't want even Hector to know the things I was looking up. Hmmm… I hope Hector doesn't have a way of tracking my searches on my phone.

After about an hour of reading some very explicit descriptions of what I needed to do, I finally felt like I might be able to pull this off. I put my phone aside and got back to work on some client files until the work day was over.

Once I shut my computer down at the end of the day, I slipped out of my office, doing my best to keep Carlos from seeing me. I took the elevator to 7, entered our apartment, and immediately headed to the bathroom. A half hour later, I was shaved, scrubbed, exfoliated, and moisturized in all the necessary places. I slipped on a black lace thong and my favorite black lace Victoria's Secret pushup bra. But what should I wear? I pulled out a sexy little black dress, but if I wore that, there was a chance Carlos would have me undressed and under him in bed before I had a chance to implement my plan. I put the dress back and pulled several more outfits out. I finally settled on my standard jeans and t-shirt.

There was a knock at the door and I heard Ella call out. Wonderful aromas wafted through the apartment. I went out to greet Ella as she set dinner out on the table.

"Hello, dear," Ella said to me as I entered the dining area. "I hope you are okay with baked salmon and steamed broccoli tonight. I made the chocolate mousse you requested as well."

I came over to the table to peek at the food. "It all looks and sounds delicious, Ella. Especially the mousse. Thank you. I love all your cooking."

"It's no problem, dear. You are my favorite person to cook for." Ella gave me a pat on the cheek and turned to leave. "Let me know if there is anything else you need tonight."

I smiled. Next to Carlos, Ella was the best part of living here at Haywood.

Ella had set the covered plates on the dining table rather than in the warmer so I knew Carlos would be on his way soon. I grabbed two glasses to fill with ice and filtered water from the fridge. No sooner had I set the glasses on the table than I heard the door open and Carlos's keys drop into the silver dish on the table by the door.

"Babe." Carlos came up behind me, lifted my hair to the side, and kissed that special spot on my neck that normally makes my knees go weak. Instead, this time it made the butterflies in my stomach take flight. I'd been doing pretty well keeping my nervousness about tonight at bay, but now that Carlos was here, I was suddenly feeling shaky and nauseous. What if I couldn't pull this off? What if I made a fool of myself? What if Lula and Les were wrong and he didn't like what I was planning to do to him?

"Babe? Are you okay? You seem like you're nervous about something."

"I'm fine," I managed to squeak out. Carlos raised an eyebrow at my response but didn't press any further. He pulled out my chair for me and I was grateful for the chance to sit before my knees gave out.

Carlos went to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of wine from the fridge. He opened it and poured two glasses, sipping on one before handing the second to me. I was grateful for the wine. Hopefully, it would settle my nerves and give me a little courage.

Dinner was a quiet affair. I was too anxious to keep up much of a conversation and Carlos …well, Carlos was his typical quiet self, lost in his zone. He was always comfortable with silence as we ate. I fidgeted in my seat and found I couldn't eat more than a few bites. I spent most of dinner pushing food around my plate with my fork. I had no appetite, but I quickly downed my first glass of wine. Carlos seemed a little surprised as I don't normally gulp down wine that fast. I held out my glass for a refill. Carlos seemed reluctant to pour me more, but he finally filled my glass half way. I'm certain he knew something was up, especially when I told him I wasn't hungry for the chocolate mousse in the refrigerator. He raised an eyebrow at that pronouncement but let it go. Finally, the dishes were rinsed and placed in the dishwasher, and I was out of time. It was now or never.

I told Carlos to excuse me for a minute and retreated to the bedroom. I'd placed votive candles around the room earlier and took a few minutes to light them all before grabbing my purchases from under the bed. I placed the massage oils on the bedside table and hid everything else in the drawer where it would be easily accessible when I needed it. I shucked off my jeans and tee and slid my feet into 4 inch black FMPs.

Taking a deep breath and blowing it out, I squared my shoulders and did my best to imitate a sexy strut out to the living room where Carlos was relaxed on the couch, sipping his second glass of wine. His eyes darkened at my attire, or lack thereof. "Babe."

I held out my hand and tugged him to a standing position. "Come with me," I told him, leading him back to the bedroom. A wolfish grin appeared on his face when he saw what I'd done in the bedroom. In addition to lighting the candles, I'd pulled the bedcovers down to the foot of the bed and spread some of the fluffy bath towels over the sheets. The last thing I wanted was to get massage oil all over the duvet or sheets.

"Relax and do what I tell you to do tonight, okay?" I whispered before putting my hand on the back of his neck to pull him down for a kiss. Our lips brushed softly for a moment before I deepened the kiss. Reluctantly breaking the kiss and pulling back, I tugged his shirt loose from his cargos and slipped it over his head. Our eyes were locked on each other. I was surprised he was doing exactly as I'd asked. He wasn't trying to take control. Next, my hands went to his belt and I loosened it before pulling it free and dropping it to the floor next to his shirt. Then my hands went to the button at his waist. I popped it open and eased the zipper down, pushing his cargos down over his hips, letting them drop on the floor. His cock was already hard and sprung free of his pants, brushing against my stomach. He'd already slipped his boots off when he'd entered the apartment before dinner so he just had to step out of the pants.

Once I finally had him naked, I commanded him to lay down on his stomach on the bed. He gave me a small, thinking about smiling smile and laid down. I once again drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, willing my body and mind to relax. I slipped my FMPs off and climbed on the bed, grabbed the bottle of vanilla flavored massage oil, and straddled his back.

Pouring a bit of the oil in my hands, I rubbed them together to warm the oil a bit. Spreading the oil over his skin, I began to rub small circles up and down his back. I dug my fingers into the shoulder muscles, trying to release the tension there. I heard and felt a soft moan escape from his lips as my hands worked the muscles. Down his arms and back up to his shoulders and neck again, then I let my hands travel further south. I worked my hands on that glorious gluteus maximus. I know I used to say that Joe had the best ass in Trenton, but that ceased to be true when Ranger moved to town. With the influx of Rangemen, I doubt Joe even ranks in the top 10 anymore, but maybe I'm a bit biased. I worked down Carlos's legs to his feet and then let my hands begin a slow, sensual path back up, skimming the inside of his thighs and letting a single finger dip into the cleft between his cheeks. Carlos inhaled sharply as I did so. "Babe," he whispered softly.

All this sensual touching had me more than ready to move the night along. Sliding off his back, I tapped his hip to signal him to flip over. There was no question Carlos had enjoyed the massage. Little Ranger was standing at attention for me. Straddling his hips again, I let my hot core brush against his hard cock as I reached over to the drawer in the bedside table and extracted the handcuffs. I laid them above his head and caught his wrists as his hands grabbed my hips. I didn't want to lose control of the situation now. I pushed his hands above his head, bringing my face directly in front of his. Our lips were just millimeters from touching. Looking deep into his eyes, nearly black with desire, I asked "trust me?"

"Of course, Babe," he immediately responded.

I grabbed the handcuffs and held them up where he could see them. "Good. Trust me with this tonight."

He tensed, and his breath caught. He seemed uncertain for a moment, but then gave me the slightest of nods and relaxed into the bed. Bolstered by his acquiescence, I smiled and clicked the first cuff into place. Threading the second cuff through a slat in the headboard, I closed it around his other wrist to lock him in place. Our eyes held one another, and he gave me a 100 watt smile. I leaned a little closer to fuse my lips to his. I let me tongue trace the seam of his lips until they parted to let me in. I was shocked he was allowing me to be in charge but pleased that everything was going as planned.

With his wrists restrained, I unhooked the clasp on my bra and let it slide off my arms. I began a slow path of warm, wet, open-mouthed kisses from the side of his neck downward, touching my tongue to his skin repeatedly, enjoying his response to my ministrations. I peppered his body with kisses but ignored the one part that seemed to be most eager for attention. From time to time, I would let my breasts brush across his lips and I'd still, letting him take a nipple into his mouth. He groaned as I once again kissed my way up his thighs. His shaft was fully engorged and pre-cum was dripping from the tip. I touched my tongue to the tip and tasted him. "Mmmmm," I moaned. I love how Carlos tastes almost as much as I love how he smells.

Slowly, I licked from the base to the tip before opening my mouth and taking him in. I let my tongue circle the head and then moved to take more of his shaft into my mouth, applying gentle suction. The cuffs rattled against the headboard as Carlos tried to lower his hands to thread them through my hair like he normally does when I am pleasuring him with my mouth. Frustrated by the restraints, he let out a low growl. "Babe, maybe we need to get me out of these cuffs. I don't think I can take this. I need to touch you."

I let him slide out of my mouth, making a soft popping noise as I released my mouth from his cock. I smiled up at him. "Not a chance, Batman. You're not getting out of those until I decide you are." He pushed his head back into the pillow and arched his back slightly, trying to encourage me to take him in his mouth again. It didn't take much convincing. I was really enjoying having this power over him. I took him back into my mouth and relaxed my throat to take as much of him in as I could. Redoubling my efforts, I used both hands to pump at the bottom of his shaft while I moved my head up and down on his cock. I heard the handcuffs rattle again and peeked to see him pulling hard against the headboard. His head was thrown back. I was watching for the tell-tale signs of his impending release. I needed to catch it at just the right time. It took just a few more seconds and I could tell he was almost at the point of no return. I released the suction, pulled back, and used my hand to squeeze gently under the head. Carlos's reaction was immediate.

"Fuck! Babe! What are you doing?"

As dangerous as it was to poke the bear, I was feeling emboldened by the fact he was restrained. "Is something wrong, Carlos?"

He raised his head to look at me and then slammed it back onto the pillow in frustration. "You know exactly what's wrong. Why'd you do that?"

I was sitting back on my heels, watching him. "I wasn't ready for you to cum yet. It's early and we have a long ways to go."

Carlos raised his head off the pillow again and shot a glare my way that would have most men wetting their pants. Me though? I wasn't scared, but maybe I should have been.

I started over at Carlos's feet, gently massaging them with my hands. His body began to relax again. I worked my way up his calves. Finally, I smoothed by hands over his thighs and took him back in my mouth. I knew I needed to move on to the next part of the plan, the part that had me so nervous. Carlos's reactions so far had bolstered my confidence. I gave him a lick from the base to the tip and then kissed my way up his body until I reached his delectable mouth. I wanted this contact with him before I brought out my other purchase. The kiss was slow and sensual, building the heat between us once again. I reluctantly broke the kiss off and reached over to the bedside drawer. I removed the bottle of lube and the item Les had selected for me. No way will I ever admit to Carlos that Les had selected these for me. I was biting my lower lip, nervous about Carlos's reaction.

I looked at Carlos and lifted the items so he could see. His eyes grew wide.

"Babe. Anal beads?"

My mouth refused to work so I simply nodded. Carlos took a deep breath and let out a growl. I leaned over to give him another kiss. Only this one wasn't slow and sensual, it was hard and full of hunger. Hmmm… maybe Les did know what he was talking about.

I once again broke the kiss and began another path down Carlos's body. Once I was kneeling between his legs, I slipped my thong off. It was soaked through from my own arousal. I leaned over and ran my tongue around the crown of his cock, licking off the pre-cum that was weeping from the tip. His cock appeared purple from being so engorged.

I opened the bottle of lube and squeezed a bit on my index finger. Keeping my eye's on Carlos's face, I let my finger trail from his sac to his puckered hole.

His eyes closed and a moan escaped from his mouth. "Oh Babe."

I circled the hole several times, spreading the lube, then I let the tip of my finger breach the hole before pulling back.

"Dios! Babe, don't stop."

I reached for the lube again and this time applied some to the anal beads. I pressed the first bead against his hole and pushed it in with my index finger. Carlos was breathing heavy and fast. I slipped another bead in, followed by a third, and again until all the beads were in place. I looked up, and just as Lula had predicted, he was pulling hard at the cuffs. His arm muscles were tense and bulging as he strained against the cuffs. His eyes were completely black with desire. Remembering what Lula had told me, I grabbed hold of the ring at the base of the beads with one hand and gripped the base of his cock with the other. I gently tugged until one of the beads popped out and I pushed it back in.

"Babe." My name came out as a strangled cry.

I continued to slowly pull a bead or two out and then push them back in. Over and over again. While I did this, I took him back in my mouth. I let my tongue circle the crown and then up and down the shaft. Bead out, bead in. His hips were thrusting slightly as he tried to get me to take more of him into my mouth. I'd never realized being in control like this could be such a turn on. I tried to control the pace, giving him enough to drive him wild while not giving him enough to push him over the edge. Slowly, I built him up until I was certain he was about to explode. I'd never heard cries of pleasure coming from him like they were now. I once again removed my mouth and squeezed just under the head of his cock.

He roared in frustration. "Stephanie!"

Oh shit! He used my full name. Should I be nervous about what happens when I let him loose from the cuffs? I looked up and saw a look I'd never seen on him before. It was a mix of utter frustration, pleading, and need. I wasn't expecting to be so turned on by doing this. I decided I needed some relief before I continued with Carlos. Besides, I think he needs a break before I continue.

I crawled up his body, stopping as our lips met in a fiery kiss. While I was lost in the kiss, my core had aligned with the tip of his engorged shaft. He thrust his hips upward and the unexpected penetration just about sent me through the stratosphere. I so wanted to stay there and ride him to completion. Hi-ho, Silver. But I'd mapped out a plan and I wasn't to that part yet. I raised myself off of him and he let out a cry of disappointment. I crawled up his body until I was straddling his face. "Lick me," I commanded.

Ever the obedient soldier, Carlos complied. His tongue lapped up the juices spilling out of me, then speared me. I cried out when his tongue penetrated me. I was so close. I was holding onto the headboard for support. His tongue slipped out of me and made a path up to my clit. When his tongue hit my clit, I lost control. Screaming as I shook when the powerful orgasm ripped through my body.

I wanted to collapse, but I needed to finish my work on Carlos. I worked my way back until I could kiss him once again. There is something so erotic about tasting myself on Carlos's mouth.

I once again knelt between Carlos's legs. Using one hand to grasp the base of his shaft and the other to grab the ring attached to the end of the beads, I took Carlos into my mouth again. As I licked and sucked, I repeated the process of pulling a bead out and pushing it back in.

"Dios! Babe! You have to let me cum," Carlos cried out. He was pulling on the cuffs so hard I started to wonder if the headboard would break. I knew he was close. I wanted him inside of me when he came so I let his cock out of my mouth and quickly mounted him. One quick movement and I was impaled on him. Reaching behind me, I found the ring at the base of the beads. I began to ride him and after a couple slow strokes, I could feel another orgasm building in me. I quickened the pace and felt him tense. As my walls began to clench around him, I pulled on the ring. He let out a roar and I could feel his cock pulsing inside of me. I dropped the beads on the towel behind me and rode him until both our orgasms began to subside. Sated, I collapsed on his chest.

"Oh Babe," he gulped. "That was incredible."

"Yes, it was," I sighed.

"Could you release the cuffs? I really need to hold you right now."

I sat up and grabbed the key from the bedside table and released his hands.

His arms immediately encircled me and held tight. My head was laying on his chest and I could feel both our hearts pounding furiously.

"I love you, Babe."

"I love you too, Carlos."

We laid there in silence for several minutes, savoring the moment.

"What possessed you to do this tonight?"

"You've been so stressed and on edge. I wanted to do something to help relieve some of that stress. This is what I came up with." I giggled. No way was I going to fess up to Les and Lula's part in this.

"Thank you. I'm definitely feeling less stressed now."

"How did things go with the attorneys today?"

"It went well, but I don't want to talk about that right now."

"Okay. We will talk later."

"I want to take you out to dinner Saturday night. In fact, leave your entire day open. We need some time for just the two of us."

"I agree."

I let out a contented sigh. Carlos lifted my chin with his finger and kissed me in a way that conveyed all the love we share. He rolled me onto my back and began kissing my neck. I was so lost in the sensation that I didn't realize he'd locked my hands in his and raised them above my head. He lifted his head so he could look into my eyes, and a wicked 200 watt grin appeared on his face. Before I knew it, I felt one of the cuffs click into place, followed quickly by the second.

Carlos leaned down and whispered in my ear, "You forgot, Babe. Payback's a bitch."

Oh boy!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Another smutty chapter. If you aren't into smut, you can skip down to Tank's point of view at the end of the chapter. I haven't been happy with this chapter and have rewritten it about five times. I think I finally have something I can live with so I'm going to post this before I second guess myself and rewrite it a sixth time.

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Janet Evanovich and not me. If they belonged to me, there would be a lot more scenes in the books like the one you will read below.

**Chapter 5**

RPOV

I saw the look of shock and trepidation on Babe's face as I reminded her that payback's a bitch. I quickly realized that she might be thinking I would pay her back in all the same ways she used on me. I needed to nip that thought in the bud.

"Don't worry, Babe. I know your limits and I will never do something that you are uncomfortable with. If I ever make you uncomfortable, tell me and I'll stop."

Babe relaxed a bit after I told her that. I was truly surprised that Babe went there with me. I know she has a hang up about "butt stuff" as she calls it. Anal sex has been a part of my prior sexual experiences, but given Babe's unease with the topic, I never thought it would be something she would try out with me on the receiving end. I wish I knew why she has been so closed off to it. I don't know if it is just her upbringing or if she had a bad experience in the past. That's a topic to be broached at another time. Perhaps her seeing my reaction to it will open her mind to the possibilities.

Tonight, I want to drive her as insane as she made me. Dios! What she did was amazing. One of my favorite things to do is kiss my Babe. I start there with a deep, sensual kiss that leaves us both breathless. I remember there's something in the kitchen I want to use.

"Be back in a sec, Babe," and I head out to retrieve what I need. Ella had left two dessert cups of chocolate mousse in the fridge. In theory, it was one for each of us, but we all knew Babe would eat both. I could tell during dinner she was too nervous about what she had planned to do to me to eat. The way she downed her first glass of wine had me concerned. After listening in on the plans this afternoon, I was really looking forward to tonight. Babe is such a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, I was worried she'd pass out on me if she had that second glass of wine, especially on an almost empty stomach. Luckily the additional half glass didn't impair her too much. Both cups of mousse were still in the fridge, untouched. I grabbed one. I also grabbed another small bowl from the cupboard and filled it with ice.

I hurried back to the bedroom and paused in the doorway. The sight before me took my breath away. Her arms captured above her head. Her wild curls spread out around her head, contrasting against the white sheets. Her eyes, darkened with desire to the shade of midnight, seemed to bore into my soul. Her long legs slightly open so I could see her swollen, glistening lips. Dios! I wanted to bury myself in her right now. That would have to wait for now. I wanted her to feel the same burning need she'd made me feel, and to do that, I needed every ounce of control I had.

I set the bowl of ice on the bedside table and kept the cup of mousse in my hand. Sitting on the bed next to her, I gently caressed her face with the back of my hand, then bent to brush her lips with my own. Our eyes fixed on one another, I dipped my index finger into the mousse and held it to her lips. Never breaking eye contact, her tongue slowly licked around my finger, cleaning the mousse off it. I dipped my finger into the mousse again and held it to her. This time she closed her lips around my finger and gently sucked it clean, moaning softly as she did. My cock twitched in anticipation.

"Is it good, Babe?"

"Mmmmm…. So good, Batman."

"I'll have to try it myself." I dipped my finger in the mousse again, but this time, I wiped the mousse across her lips and bent to lick it off her lips with my tongue. "Mmm…. You're right, Babe. That is really good."

I swiped my finger in the cup again and this time spread the mousse on her nipples. I leaned down and gently licked both nipples clean. She moaned as I did.

"I'm beginning to see what you like about dessert." I spread a bit of the mousse on the side of her neck and gently licked it clean. I offered her my finger again, coated in the chocolate dessert and she once again sucked it clean. I set the now empty cup on the table and began a slow exploration of her body. I start at her mouth and began to work my way down her body, gently caressing her and kissing every inch of skin. I took my time worshipping her body until there was just one place I hadn't touched yet. She was dripping with need by the time my mouth reached her slit. I lightly ran my tongue around her clit without touching it. Her hips shot up to try to get me to give it more attention.

"Carlos, please," she moaned.

"Patience, Babe, patience," I whispered softly.

"You know I don't have any patience," she muttered.

I couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of my mouth. She was going to be doing a lot more begging before I was done. I held her hips to the bed and slowly explored her. I ran my tongue along her lips, capturing her juices. She always tastes so sweet. I brushed my tongue lightly over her clit, barely grazing it. She tried to push her hips up to make firmer contact with my mouth, but I held them firmly to the bed. I let my tongue penetrate her, fucking her slowly and gently with it. I could tell it wouldn't take much to push her over the edge. Her moans became soft cries of need. I placed a soft kiss to the inside of her thigh and sat up. The look of wanton lust on her face made me grow even harder.

I reached over and picked up a piece of ice from the bowl. I ran the ice over her lips and then down her jawline. My warm mouth followed the cold ice, kissing and licking to warm her chilled skin. I circled one of her nipples with the ice and softly blew warm air over it before taking it in my mouth. I alternated from one nipple to the other and back again. Her cries were getting louder. I scooped up a new piece of ice from the bowl. Starting at her nipple, I let the ice trail down her body and followed it with my warm mouth, over her stomach, dipping briefly into her navel, and down until I ran it over her mound. I popped another piece of ice in my mouth and held it there while I continued to run the first piece around her mound. I waited until the ice had cooled my tongue, then I wrapped my arms around her thighs to hold her in place and ran my ice cooled tongue across her clit. She threw her head back and screamed. Her hips tried to buck up, but I held her in place, continuing to run my cool tongue over her hot clit. Her cries were getting louder and I could feel her body tensing. I removed my mouth from her clit and continued to hold her hips in place. A moan of disappointment came from her mouth.

I positioned myself on top of her and dipped my head to her breasts. Alternating between the two, sucking on one while pulling on the other nipple with my fingers. I purposefully let my hard cock brush ever so slightly against her clit while I was suckling her. It wasn't long before Babe's breathing turned into pants and she was arching her hips up to try to get more pressure on her clit. It was a beautiful sight. I reached down and slipped two fingers into her. I curled them forward and found her g-spot. With just two strokes, I felt her body start to clench. I pulled back, and she let out a scream of frustration.

"Carlos, please!" Her eyes were wild with need.

"Please what?"

"Please let me cum!"

"Not yet, querida. But soon."

I'm not sure how long her energy will hold up. It's been a long, very physical night. She has been screaming so loud, I was certain her voice would be raspy tomorrow. I really hope there's enough soundproofing between the floors so Ella and Luis can't hear her.

I know what I want to do, but I'm concerned she may misinterpret it. I place both hands on her face, making sure she's looking right at me. "You know you can trust me, right?" She nodded. "Good. Always remember that," I say as my lips brush over her own. I kiss her deeply and begin yet another slow, torturous exploration of her body with my mouth. By the time I finish, she is whimpering with need. I suckle her breasts and let a finger barely brush against her clit. Her hips raise up, trying to get me to apply more pressure. I reach over for the handcuff key and release her hands. She's so far gone that I don't even think it registers in her brain that her hands are free. I grab her hips and flip her over quickly. I position us so we are both on our knees with her knees are outside of mine. I position myself at her entrance and reach around her to place my hands on her breasts. I thrust into her, angling our bodies so I hit her g-spot. At the same time, I pinch her nipples, and she screams as she explodes. She is shaking from the force of the orgasm. I pump into her one, two, three times and I can no longer hold back. Feeling her walls pulsing against me was enough to send me over the edge again. Exhausted, we collapsed in a heap.

I'm holding her with her back to my front. Bringing her wrists to my mouth, I gently kissed the red marks caused by how hard she'd been pulling at the cuffs. The sheepskin protected the skin on both our wrists. Whatever red marks are there tonight will be gone by tomorrow, or should I say later today. It's already well into the early morning hours.

Lying there enjoying the quiet, I hear a slight sniffle and feel a small shake in her shoulders. I glance over her shoulder and see there are tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Babe? What's wrong? Did I hurt you? Did I scare you?" My heart is clenching. I'm so worried that she's upset with me.

She gave her head a slight shake in response. "No, you didn't hurt me. Nothing's wrong," she sniffled.

"Then why are you crying, querida?"

"I don't know. I'm just feeling… I don't know. I'm just feeling overwhelmed. I love you, Carlos Manoso."

I turn her so she's facing me and rest my forehead against hers. "I love you too, Stephanie Plum."

As amazing as tonight has been, I'm hoping she has enough energy for one more round. I want to make love to Babe. No restraints. No toys. Just her and me showing each other how much we love one another. We laid on our sides, facing one another. I pulled her close to me and lifted one of her legs over mine to open her up to me. She sighed contentedly as I entered her once again. This time our coupling was slow and gentle. Our mutual orgasm rolled into us softly, and we fell asleep entangled in each other.

TPOV

Tonight was my turn to take the graveyard shift. We usually try to have one of the Core Team members on duty, or at least on call, overnight. I'm naturally a night owl anyway, and even though the Army tried to turn me into a morning person, my body rhythms never truly adjusted. So it's not too difficult for me to stay awake and alert on the overnight shifts. I had my head buried in paperwork when there was a knock at my door. I looked up and was surprised to see Luis standing there, obviously roused from bed.

"Luis, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is really wrong. It's more the case of something finally going really right, but it's keeping Ella and I awake tonight."

I raised an eyebrow, hoping for a little more information.

"Ella filled me in on Stephanie's assignment for tonight," he continued.

I chuckled. Bomber would die of mortification if she knew how many people were aware of what she'd been tasked with tonight. Granted, no one except Steph, and possibly Lula, knew exactly what was happening, but most of us had a general idea.

"The assignment must be going amazingly well if we can judge from the noises coming from the 7th floor. Ella thought you had a stock of those disposable foam earplugs. Could I get a couple pairs? Ella is tired and will need to be up in a few hours to put breakfast out, so she really needs to get to sleep."

I rose from my desk and walked towards the door. "Sure. We have some of those in the supply room. I know right where they are."

"Thanks, Tank. Ella and I really appreciate this."

"Tell you what. Turn off your alarms and sleep in tomorrow. You both deserve it. I can get breakfast set out for the guys. They can make due with bagels and yogurt for tomorrow. Is everything up in the kitchen?"

Since Ella prepared not just Ranger's meals but also meals for all the men on duty, the 6th floor had a large commercial kitchen. There was one door which led into Ella and Luis's apartment, so she could access the kitchen without having to go into the hallway. But there was also a second door which allowed us access without having to go into the apartment. That was needed for times when Ella had a day off or was busy with other duties.

"Yes, the trays of bagels are already arranged. Cream cheeses and butter are in the fridge, as well as the yogurt and fruit."

"Perfect. I'll take care of it all. I'm also going to send a text to Ranger telling him I've given you and Ella the morning off and he can get his own damn breakfast."

Luis chuckled at this. I handed him the earplugs and he was off to the 6th floor prepared.

Damn! Those two must really be enjoying themselves tonight. In the 8 months they've been together, never have Ella and Luis been bothered by any noises coming from the penthouse. Hopefully the mission will be a success, and Ranger's mood will be improved tomorrow. With that thought, I went back to my paperwork with a smile on my face.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This is the chapter that finally answers the question of what had Ranger in such a bad mood. It is also a chapter that sharply differs in tone from the previous chapters. When this story first started bouncing around in my head, I was not planning on this. My original concept was a short, two-shot story with some humor and a lot of smut, basically what you've read in chapters 1-5 on a much smaller scale. But the one question that kept bothering me was what would flap the unflappable Ranger? What would make the guy with legendary calm and control lose both enough to make everyone around him miserable? The idea that took root in my brain and wouldn't go away is what follows. This chapter addresses a difficult topic, and I hope I've treated it with appropriate care.

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

**Chapter 6**

RPOV

I woke at my usual time, 0500, even though we'd been awake until after 0300 working out any remaining stress and tension that we had been holding onto. I'd shut my alarm off before we drifted off to sleep so it wouldn't wake us, but my internal clock is more difficult to shut down. Babe was wrapped in my arms. She had the boneless, completely relaxed look that she gets after we make love. It had been quite the night. Despite having spied on her, Lula, and Lester at Pleasures Treasures and learning her plan to burn off some of my excess tension, I was still shocked by the level of aggression she exhibited in taking charge of my body last night. It was exhilarating. And I thoroughly enjoyed the alarmed look on her face as I turned the tables on her. For now, I just want to continue to hold her in my arms. I think last night counted as enough cardio to justify my skipping the gym this morning.

The incident that precipitated my mood started like so many other calls we respond to at RangeMan. One of our accounts, a convenience store, was being held up at gun point. The clerk manning the register that night was a 25 year old pregnant woman. She'd hit the RangeMan-installed panic button under the counter when the would-be thief pulled a semi-automatic handgun and demanded the cash from the drawer. She complied with the gunman's demands, but the cash in the till was less than the perp wanted, and he was demanding the clerk open the floor safe. He wasn't listening as she explained she didn't have the ability to open it and the situation was escalating quickly.

Our control room responded to the alarm from the panic button immediately by sending out a call for response from the closest available team. They also placed a call to TPD to report the situation and dispatched Bobby and Les since there was a gun involved. Whenever there is a possibility of gunfire, we want Bobby on scene as quickly as possible to deal with any potential injuries.

The closest team on patrol was Junior and Binkie. It just so happened they were less than a minute away from the store when the alarm sounded and arrived while the gunman was still threatening the store clerk. The gunman wasn't facing the door when Junior and Binkie arrived. They slipped in, and Binkie quietly went around the aisle in order to surprise the gunman from his other side. Junior had his gun raised and demanded the perp drop his. The perp swung his weapon around to point it at Junior and Binkie slid in behind the perp.

When the gunman refused to comply with Junior's repeated orders to drop the weapon and was becoming increasingly agitated, Binkie fired his weapon. Binkie didn't see another way to subdue the gunman without putting his partner and the pregnant clerk in danger. If Junior had fired, it would likely have been a kill shot to the chest, and there was a chance the gunman could get a shot off at Junior first. Binkie didn't have a great angle for his shot, but he got the gunman in the right shoulder. The force of the shot caused the gunman to drop his weapon and fall to the floor. Bobby was on scene just a couple minutes later, along with several blue and whites. The gunshot wound was not fatal. Bobby got the injured gunman stabilized and in an ambulance to St. Francis. Both Junior and Binkie, as well as the store clerk, were unharmed. That night, it all seemed rather run of the mill and ordinary. It's never a good feeling when one of my guys has to discharge his weapon, but this seemed as straightforward as possible.

What happened over the next two days was anything but ordinary. The gunman's family posted on social media how their innocent and unarmed son was just at the convenience store to pick up some snacks, had been profiled by a white, racist "rent-a-cop", and was shot unprovoked for simply being a black man. We were incredulous at the blatant fabrication of events. Over the next day, that story grew and spread. It went from social media to the national print and televised media. Binkie's full name Benjamin Ignowski, RangeMan, and the term "racist" were plastered all over just about every media outlet. It was a nightmare. The story was spreading like wildfire, and no one was stopping to check the facts of what actually happened. We quickly consulted with our attorneys and came up with a coordinated strategy to respond. In the most basic terms, our strategy was full and complete transparency regarding the incident.

We released on the internet all video and written reports on the incident. And this is where my Babe had saved my ass, and RangeMan, again. About 6 months ago, Babe came to me with an idea. We already had dashcams in all our fleet vehicles. But after seeing so many incidents where police response was called into question, some rightfully so and some not so much, Babe thought we should consider outfitting our men with bodycams to wear when on patrol and during takedowns. I thought it sounded like a good idea and called our attorneys to get their input. They agreed it would be beneficial to us if our actions were ever called into question. Luckily, RangeMan had the resources necessary to purchase the equipment, and the guys have been wearing it for over four months now.

In addition to bodycam video from both Junior and Binkie, we had video from the store's surveillance cameras which showed what happened before our guys were on scene, plus by a stroke of luck, when Junior and Binkie parked, they happened to park so the dashcam was pointed through the store's front windows. That gave us a great wide shot view of the scene. I asked if they had done that intentionally, and they admitted they hadn't given it a thought. But since that video was so helpful in showing exactly how the incident unfolded, we amended our SOP (standard operating procedures) to recommend parking so the dashcam has a full view of the scene whenever possible. We don't want the men to slow down their response times to get the best camera angle, but we do want them to consider the dashcam when arriving on scene.

We released the video footage and written reports to the media at a press conference. I stood, with my Core Team members behind me, and narrated through the videos, explaining everything I could about Junior's and Binkie's response that night. I talked about the backgrounds of the men I hire, how over 90% of RangeMan employees are former military, and the training they receive once employed by RangeMan. Most of my Trenton staff come from special forces units. I wanted to emphasize that we are a highly trained and experienced security firm, not inexperienced "rent-a-cops".

I'm certain the videos are responsible for the abrupt turn in the public's opinion of Binkie's actions that followed the press conference, but it certainly didn't hurt that the Core Team is comprised of two Latinos and two African-Americans. That we stood there and issued our full, unconditional support for Binkie's actions had to have made an impact.

Junior also made a statement at that press conference. We hadn't asked him to, but he volunteered. He wrote the statement and cleared it with our attorneys. The attorneys approved it as he had written it, with no alterations. Junior spoke of how in the two years he had been partnered with Binkie, he had never seen nor heard anything from Binkie that could be construed as racist. Junior stated that as an African-American, he had no qualms about Binkie's actions, and that he appreciated that Binkie had to make a split-second decision on what to do to best protect himself, his partner, and the young store clerk from an exceedingly dangerous situation. An incorrect decision could have fatal consequences, and Binkie's actions had ensured no one died that night.

The Chief of Police spoke. He reiterated that Binkie was justified in the level of force he used, and he would not face any charges. The TPD officers showed a level of support for Binkie and RangeMan I hadn't seen before. While we get along with most of the officers, there are several members of the TPD that do not hold us in high regard. I'll never tell Babe this, but I think her back and forth between me and Morelli stoked some of the animosity shown by TPD officers towards me and my company. They view me as having interfered with Morelli's relationship with Steph. But throughout this ordeal, every TPD officer has been supportive of us. I think they realize it could have just as easily been one of them having to make the decision to use force and then deal with the fallout. If Binkie and Junior hadn't been so close, it would have been a TPD blue and white first on the scene.

Senator Joe Juniak also spoke at that press conference. He addressed the ways RangeMan has benefitted the community, whether through our regular work of providing security for homes and businesses, bond enforcement, or our donations of money and time to various organizations.

After that news conference, the tide was turning. Obviously, the gunman's family's narrative of the innocent, unarmed black man being undeservedly profiled fell apart with the video evidence of him entering the store, pulling a gun, and pointing it at the pregnant clerk. With so much real racism in this world, it angered me that someone would fabricate these claims. Did they not realize there would be surveillance video? Or did their son lie to them and they believed him? I don't know why they spread the story they did, and ultimately the why doesn't really matter.

Our side was further bolstered when the young African-American clerk and her husband stood in front of the media to give their statement on the matter. They praised our quick response and thanked Binkie for taking the action needed to bring an end of the terrifying ordeal. One positive thing to come out of this mess was the assistance the young couple received as a result of the publicity. The mother-to-be had taken the job at the convenience store in order to save up extra money for once their baby was born. The father-to-be was also working two jobs in order to provide for his wife and unborn child. Donations of everything from diapers to cribs had come in for the couple, and a GoFundMe account was set up for them. The couple requested the account be closed when it reached $100,000 in donations; and they requested any further donations people wanted to make should be directed to the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization of Trenton. The couple plans to deliver their baby at St. Francis, so I've contacted the hospital and arranged for any expenses not covered by insurance to be billed to RangeMan.

The first attorney hired by the gunman's family to sue us and "get justice" for their son dropped the case once the video was released. He issued a public apology for accusing Binkie and RangeMan of racism. The family hired another attorney, but the man is just an ambulance chaser with skills on par with Babe's brother-in-law, Albert Kloughn. His experience and credentials pale in comparison to our attorneys. Early yesterday, our attorneys put a stop to the mess by threatening to file countersuits for defamation of character on behalf of both Binkie and RangeMan if they didn't drop their lawsuit against us and stop spreading false information regarding the incident. Realizing they were fighting a losing battle, the family acquiesced to our demands.

Most major television and print media outlets ran apologies for their role in disseminating the false accusations once the videos were released. They promised to further vet information starting on social media before reporting on it. I doubt that will happen, but we will see.

What happened was hard for all of us. Despite many advancements in civil rights and race relations that have occurred in the U.S. since the time my parents were young, there is no doubt racism continues to exist. Being Latino, I've experienced it firsthand. Even here in Trenton where I run a successful business and regularly give back to the community, I'm accused by some close-minded people of being a thug and a criminal. Over and over, I've heard people discuss the "questionable origins" of my personal and fleet vehicles. Can people not understand that I run a multi-million dollar security firm with offices in four cities and I have plenty of business revenue and personal income to buy the cars and SUVs? The 'Burg where my Babe grew up is one of the worst areas for harboring these close-minded views.

Though I have to accept that at one point in my life, I did things that reinforced these incorrect views. When I was a teen, my parents and abuela tried to get me to see the damage I was doing. My time in the gang and when I chose to steal that car, I was contributing to a stereotype rather than proving it wrong. It took a while for me to grasp that concept, but once it became clear in my mind, I dedicated myself to living a life that is morally right, and I've used my business to help others like myself.

The population of the United States is about 13% black and 18% Latino, but the racial makeup of my employees has a much higher percentage in both those categories. It's not that we actively seek out minorities in our hiring process. We really don't care what race you are. We care if you have the skills and character to be an asset to us. But when starting RangeMan, our hiring was influenced by the make up of the Core Team. Obviously, I'd known Les all my life. He's one year younger than me and as cousins, we grew up close. He followed me into the Army and then into the Rangers. I met Tank in basic training, and we clicked instantly. I'm closer to him than I am my own brother. Les met Bobby in basic and they went through Ranger school together, joining Tank's and my unit after completing the training. When I decided to leave active duty to pursue my dream of RangeMan, I approached the three people I was closest to and asked them to join me. They all agreed, and we became the leadership of this company.

When we were ready to hire more people, we approached those we knew, people we'd served with and had developed strong relationships with. Our first couple rounds of hires were predominantly Latino and African-American because those were the people we'd bonded the closest with. The longer we were out of active duty, the more our hiring came from applications from people that didn't serve with us, but a lot of our hires are still personal referrals. One of our current employees knows a good candidate leaving the military and in need of a job. That employee encourages their friend to come work for us. And that has led to the current racial mix of our employees.

We spend a lot of time vetting our new hires. We talk to those who have served with them, former commanding officers, and anyone else who knows them well. We scour their social media presence looking for any undesirable signs. Through the extensive background checks, we tend to catch those applicants that may hold views I find incompatible with employment at RangeMan. I can't discount another way the Core Team influences who comes to work for us. Since the leadership team is all minority, it really discourages anyone holding strong racist views from working for us. I can't say there's no one employed by RangeMan that holds racist beliefs, but if there is, they have to keep those beliefs locked down tight. I struggle more with rooting out people who hold sexist or homophobic beliefs. I have had to fire a few employees due to comments they made about Hector and Steph.

All of us at RangeMan have been acutely aware of the conflict between minorities and law enforcement. We've encountered our fair share of racist cops, whether in our lives before RangeMan or in our dealings with law enforcement as part of RangeMan. In our experience, there are far more good cops out there than bad ones. Most cops joined the force out of a desire to serve the public and keep their communities safe. Unfortunately, there is a contingent of cops out there that hold racist views and/or that joined the force for the power trip. And that small contingent of bad cops tarnishes the image of all.

It's gut-wrenching to see a situation where a bad cop's use of excessive force has ended someone's life unnecessarily. But likewise, it's also difficult to see situations where a good cop has had to make a difficult decision to use force to keep people safe and is then second guessed or accused of making the decision based solely on race rather than people trying to understand the full picture of what the cop was facing. And most often, situations where force is used aren't that clear-cut. The use of body cams has helped untangle some of these messy situations, but it isn't a cure-all. I'm glad we implemented them here at RangeMan, and while most people don't know this, RangeMan made a substantial donation to the TPD to assist them in purchasing the equipment they needed to outfit their officers.

Due to the nature of our work, the common background of military service for most of us, and the way I've structured the company, we are much more like a family than simply employees. When one of us is injured, it impacts all of us. And when one of us was falsely accused of something reprehensible, it was as if we were all falsely accused. We were all angry and frustrated to see what happened to one of our own. The difference is, everyone else seems to have been able to deal with it and move on, and I've been holding on to the hurt and anger. RangeMan isn't just the company name. It represents me as a person. And I was resentful that my name had been unjustly connected with racism and that someone I deemed as worthy to be an employee at RangeMan was called a racist without due cause.

My mother couldn't have called at a better time yesterday, although she might have thought it was the worst time given how I spoke to her. Next to Babe, Mama is the strongest woman I know, and she took me to task yesterday for my behavior. Her words helped me see how holding onto my anger and resentment was poisoning my relationships with the people I love and the people I work with. If everyone else could let it go, so should I.

If anyone had a right to hold onto anger, it would be Binkie. He took the situation really hard. He is a brave and honorable young man who served our country with distinction in the military and has served our community well as an employee of RangeMan. To see his name besmirched with the term "racist" cut him to the core. The fact that the story went national added to his pain. In the couple days following the incident, he received so many calls from friends and family asking what the heck happened that he finally turned his phone off. He withdrew to his apartment on the 4th floor and hid from everyone.

Babe again swooped in to help. He wouldn't answer his door to any of the guys, despite the fact they'd all been 100% supportive. But he answered when Steph knocked and called in to him. He let her in, and she stayed in there for several hours. Later that night, when I asked Babe about her visit with him, she told me Binkie had asked that she not share what had transpired, and she would not break her word to him. It was Binkie that finally told me what happened that day. He came to me to thank me for letting Steph stay in his apartment for as long as he needed her and not getting territorial about it. I told him Steph makes her own decisions and I trust her, and him, implicitly. He shared that he retreated to his apartment because he'd been so wounded by the accusations leveled against him that he couldn't control his emotions. He didn't want his colleagues to see him fall apart. But Steph arrived and simply sat there and listened while he ranted and raved about the hurtful accusations. Then she took him in her arms and held him as he broke down and cried. For the first time in his adult life, he cried himself to sleep, and when he woke a couple hours later, Steph was still there, and still promising to stay as long as he needed her.

The story Binkie shared of Steph's support for him just makes me love her even more. For years now, she has been the light of my life and the heart of RangeMan. Mama was right. I need to man up and take the next step. I've had a ring sitting in my safe for almost three years. I designed it while I was still confined to a hospital bed after the Scrog incident. As soon as I was able to get out on my own, I'd taken the sketch to a jeweler to have it made. It didn't matter to me that Babe was back with Morelli at the time. I knew those two were not meant to be, and it was only a matter of time before she would finally see that. After recent events, including those of last night, I don't think I can hold off any longer. I need to make some plans for Saturday night. I want my ring on her finger before we go to my parents' house for dinner on Sunday.

With that thought in mind, I closed my eyes. If I wanted to be functional at all today, I needed more than two hours of sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Janet Evanovich, but I'm glad I got to take them out to play for a bit.

**Chapter 7**

SPOV

I slowly rose to consciousness, savoring the feel of the hard body behind me and the strong arm around my waist.

"Good morning, Babe."

I turned in his arms. "Morning, Batman." A smile of my own greeting his. He leaned in to give me a kiss. "Mmmmm…. What time is it?"

"0930."

My heart leaped in my chest as I popped up. "Crap! We're late for work."

Carlos chuckled. "Babe, I'll put a good word in with your boss. I'm sure he'll forgive you. I texted Lester earlier and told him we'd be in late. I asked him to check your calendar and reschedule any meetings or calls you had for this morning. We both needed and deserved the sleep."

My heart rate returned to normal and I decided to snuggle back in bed with Carlos for a few extra minutes. He was letting his hand brush up and down my spine, creating little shivers that radiated throughout my body.

"I don't know if you know this, but I'm really good in the shower," he whispered in my ear.

"You don't say. I think you could persuade me to get out of bed if you promise to show me just how good you are in the shower."

"Come on. Let's get up and you can try out my shower skills. Then we'll make some breakfast. Tank texted that Ella took this morning off."

RPOV

An hour later, I was very glad the building has excellent water heaters that can provide an unlimited amount of hot water. I had made egg white omelets with spinach and mushrooms and whole grain wheat toast for both of us, and we were sitting at the dining table enjoying our breakfast together.

"You said last night the meeting with the attorneys went well yesterday," Babe said.

"Yes, it did. The family has promised to drop the lawsuit and stop spreading the false accusations. I feel like this nightmare might be ending."

"I'm enjoying not having to dodge TV cameras every time I want to leave or enter the building."

I smiled. The intense media coverage of us made a bad situation a hundred times worse. In the end, we were able to turn the coverage in our favor and ended up having the media provide lots of what amounted to free advertising for us as they discussed our incredibly quick response time. But fortunately or unfortunately, we will have to deal with TV cameras for just a bit longer.

"Don't get too comfortable not having the cameras around. CBS is using their hour-long news show to examine the impact both true and false accusations spread on social media have on businesses and asked me for an interview. From what they said, they are going to look at different ways businesses respond to the social media stories and discuss the positives and negatives of the responses. Apparently, our response had no negative aspects and they'll hold us up as a model to follow."

I normally shun publicity personally but given that I was a prominent face during this mess, I agreed to be interviewed for the show. Besides, who else would I have do the interview? Tank? They'd barely get one word answers from him. Lester? We'd probably end up with a sexual harassment suit filed against us by the TV crew. Babe? Now there's an idea. She might be perfect for this.

"Babe? How'd you like to do the interview with me?"

"Really? You want me with you?"

"I always want you with me, now and forever." I hadn't thought about it before I said it, but as soon as those words came out of my mouth, I knew what I wanted to do.

"Wait here," I told her. I was going to do this on Saturday with reservations at the Four Seasons, and dinner and dancing at an upscale restaurant. We'll still do all that, but I didn't want to put off this part another moment. I went back to the bedroom and entered the combination on the safe in the closet. I reached in and pulled out the little black velvet box that had been sitting in there for 3 years. I opened it and took another look at the sapphire and diamond ring I'd designed for Babe so long ago, back when this moment seemed like a pipe dream.

I closed the box and slipped it in the pocket of my cargos. I'm glad I had the foresight to stop by the Plum residence yesterday on my way back to Haywood from the attorneys' office. I caught her dad as he was leaving to pick up a fare in his cab. He seemed to know the instant I'd pulled up to the curb what I was there for. He shook my hand and told me to take good care of his daughter. I assured him it would be my number one priority, as it had been for years.

I came back to the dining area to see Babe still sitting at the table, looking a little perplexed. I'd been trying to work out a great speech in my head for this moment, to tell her how much she means to me, how much I appreciate her love and support. Suddenly, I couldn't think of a single word other than the last three words I'd intended to say. So I dropped to one knee in front of her, pulled out the box, opened it, and said "Marry me, Babe?"

Steph covered her mouth with her hands in shock. Her eyes met mine and they were glistening with unshed tears. My breath caught in my chest and I think my heart temporarily stopped while I waited for an answer.

"Yes!" She threw her arms around me and we both laughed as she knocked me off balance and we fell to the floor together. I rolled on top of her and bent to take her lips in a searing kiss. I broke the kiss off after a few minutes just so I could make sure to slip the ring on her finger. I scooped her up and carried her back to bed. Work was just going to have to wait a little longer.

SPOV

Carlos texted Tank earlier and asked him to arrange an all-employee meeting in the conference room for 12:30. He requested off-duty personnel attend if possible. We made it down to 5 with just a few minutes to spare. From the moment we stepped off the elevator, everyone could see Carlos's mood had changed. He wasn't even attempting a blank face. He was smiling. We both were, and we couldn't stop. We entered the conference room, and Carlos took his spot at the head of the table and motioned for me to sit in the chair next to him. The last few employees filtered in, and Carlos stood. Everyone stopped talking to give him their full attention.

"I have a few things I want to address today. The first is to let you know I met with the attorneys yesterday, and we've come to a resolution in the matter of the allegations against Binkie and RangeMan. The perp's family is dropping their lawsuit and will no longer spread false information regarding the situation. In exchange, we will not sue them for defamation. The attorneys and I are comfortable with this agreement and feel it brings about the quickest end to the matter."

The guys responded with cheers and applause. I glanced over at Binkie and smiled. A number of the Merry Men were reaching out to clap his shoulder and give him one of those complicated handshakes I'll never understand. He caught my eye and smiled back.

"I also owe all of you an apology for my behavior over the past couple weeks," Carlos continued when the noise died down. "I let my frustrations with what happened impact the way I dealt with everyone around me. That was unfair and rude to all of you. I appreciate your hard work and dedication to this company. Thank you for helping make this company a top-notch security firm.

"As compensation for all you've put up with from me over the last couple weeks, we will be going to Shorty's this evening with me picking up the tab. I've asked Tank to call in as many contract workers as we can get. I know we will still have to have a few of you working, but I'm hoping we can rotate people in and out so everyone gets a chance to at least stop by, get some pizza, and relax for a bit."

A cheer went up from the guys at this announcement. Carlos raised his hand to quiet the room. He had a full 200 watt smile on his face. "One last item to attend to. Earlier today, I asked Stephanie to marry me, and she accepted my proposal." I held up my left hand to show off the ring now gracing it, and pandemonium ensued. I was lifted from my chair and passed from one Merry Man to the next. All hugging me, offering congratulations, and kissing me on the cheek. I snuck a peek over to Carlos and saw he was being congratulated with handshakes and slaps on the back.

By the time everything quieted down, it was almost 1:00. Carlos dismissed everyone, telling them to get back to work. As the men were filing out of the room, Carlos barked out, "Santos. You didn't forget we had an appointment on the mats at 1300, did you?"

Les turned and replied, "No. I hadn't forgotten. I was just hoping you had."

While Carlos and Les went to the gym, I went to my office to check emails and voicemails. I walked in and my breath caught at the sight in front of me. Red roses covering my desk and credenza. Close to a dozen vases, all different sizes with varying numbers of roses from a single rose up to what must have been three dozen. Tucked into the largest bouquet, which was sitting front and center on my desk, was a folded note with 'Babe' scrawled in Carlos's script. Opening it, I read,

"I give you a single rose because I fell in love with you at first sight.

I give you three roses to tell you 'I love you.'

I give you six roses because I want to be yours.

I give you nine roses because I hope we will be together forever.

I give you ten roses because you are perfect just the way you are.

I give you eleven roses because I treasure you.

I give you twelve roses because I want you to be mine.

I give you fourteen roses because I am proud of you.

I give you fifteen roses because I am sorry for how I've been acting.

I give you twenty-four roses to let you know you are always on my mind.

I give you thirty-six roses to remind you of all the special moments we've shared.

Thank you for choosing to be with me despite all my flaws.

I love you,

Carlos"

Wiping tears from my eyes, I pulled up the video feed for the gym and was relieved to see Carlos and Les engaged in a good-natured sparring match. Both seemed relaxed and were enjoying the match as a test of skills.

Once I had all pressing work-related calls handled, I had another call to make. My mom answered on the first ring, and I confirmed she and dad would be at the house around 4:00 today. I told her I was going to drop by and didn't mention Carlos would be with me. I also needed to stop by the bonds office but that would have to wait until tomorrow morning.

* * *

Carlos and I pulled up in front of my parents' house just a few minutes before 4:00. Per usual, my mom and grandma were waiting on the porch for us. Grandma noticed the ring before I'd even made it up the steps. Both mom and grandma seemed genuinely surprised and happy, at our engagement. Mom has come a long ways in the last eight months in accepting Carlos as part of my life. She finally realized how happy I was with him and how well he treated me.

I noticed my dad didn't seem surprised at all. Dad shook Carlos's hand and said, "You didn't waste any time at all. Did you, son?"

I attempted to raise one eyebrow. Failing at that miserably, I asked, "What do you mean, Dad?" That's when dad shared that Carlos had stopped yesterday to ask his permission to marry me. The part of me harboring my independent streak wanted to be indignant at this outdated custom, but the other part of me thought it was sweet that Carlos honored the tradition.

Carlos turned to my dad. "I beg to differ, sir. I wasted far too much time, but I don't intend to waste any more."

Mom wanted us to stay for dinner. We told her we'd come back on Monday. Tonight, we had to meet the guys at Shorty's.

The evening at Shorty's was a raucous one with lots of pizza, lots of beer, and lots of laughter. It felt good to see everyone so relaxed and enjoying themselves, most of all Carlos. The dark cloud that had been lingering over us for the past two weeks had finally gone away.

The following morning, I headed over to Tasty Pastry early and loaded up with two boxes of donuts. My parking karma held as I managed to pull the CRV into a spot directly in front of the bonds office. Heading into the office, I sat both boxes down on Connie's desk but then handed the top box to Lula. She looked a little confused, until she lifted the lid and saw a dozen Boston Crème donuts just for her. She laughed, and said, "Didn't I tell you not to worry, white girl?"

"You were right, Lula. You were right about all of it." About that time was when Connie caught sight of my left ring finger.

"Holy moly, Steph! What is that on your hand?" Connie asked, grabbing my hand to get a better look.

"Carlos asked me to marry him yesterday morning," I beamed.

Lula took my hand from Connie and let out a low whistle. "That is some ring. Huh! Who knew all it took for Batman to get his head out of his ass was for you to shove something else up it?"

"LULA!," I shouted. I heard a crash and looked over to see Connie had fallen out of her chair and was grasping her side as she laughed hysterically. I felt my face flush beet red.

Just then, the door to the bonds office open and a hand settled on the back of my neck. "Ladies, is everything okay?"

"Oh, everything is just fine, Ranger. Couldn't be better. We were just admiring that ring you put on Steph's finger." Lula responded. Her voice sounded a bit strangled as she tried to bite back laughter. Connie was still sitting on the floor, trying to control her laughter, and wiping tears from her eyes.

Carlos looked at me and noticed the flushed state of my face. "I think I'd better just get the RangeMan files and leave you ladies to catch up." He brushed a kiss to my lips, grabbed a stack of files from Connie's desk and was gone.

Lula looked at me. "Spill. I want details."

"Yeah. I feel like I missed something. Fill me in," Connie added while pulling herself up off the floor.

"Oh, no! No way. All you two need to know is that things are finally back to normal around RangeMan and that Carlos and I are very happy." I opened the second box of donuts and pulled a Boston Crème out, taking a large bite to signal I was done talking.

* * *

It was Sunday afternoon, and we'd just pulled up in front of Carlos's parents' house. We'd spent yesterday and last night in New York. Carlos had made plans for us to stay in a suite at the Four Seasons hotel and eat at a restaurant owned by a friend of his. It's one of those restaurants where you need to call six months in advance for reservations, but I doubt Carlos called more than a couple days ago. One of the perks of knowing the owner. We'd dined on amazing food, danced until I couldn't stay up on my feet any longer, then went back to the hotel to continue to celebrate our engagement.

We hadn't told any of Ranger's family about our engagement yet, and we swore Les to secrecy until we could tell them in person today. On the drive down here from New York, we debated when someone would notice my ring. I said his mom would notice as soon as we enter the house. Carlos thought one of his sisters would notice when we sat down to eat.

Carlos opened my door, and we began walking up to the house. I stopped and turned to Carlos.

"We never decided what we were wagering."

Carlos gave me one of his wolf grins and leaned to whisper in my ear. "Loser wears the cuffs tonight."

I returned his grin with a mischievous smile. "Are you sure that's what the loser gets, or would it be the prize for the winner?"

"Babe."

We stood there with our eyes locked for a moment, lost in those delicious memories. Carlos leaned down and gave me one of his toe-curling kisses. We were so lost in each other we didn't notice the front door open.

"Carlos, Stephanie. Come on inside." Maria was standing on the front porch.

"Yes, Mama." He took my hand and we resumed our walk up to the front door.

Maria let out a gasp. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked. I held out my hand for her to inspect the ring and smiled up at Carlos.

"Congratulations! I'm so happy for you both." Maria wiped happy tears from her eyes and gave us both hugs. She then hurried up to the door ahead of us to announce the good news to the rest of the family.

I whispered to Carlos, "What happens to the bet since we were both wrong? We didn't even get inside the door."

Carlos smiled. "We'll just take turns." His smile turned devious, and he kissed me again.

Maria was holding the door for us. I entered first, and as we walked in, I heard a loud "thwack" behind me. I turned and saw Carlos rubbing the back of his head.

"Ow! Mama, that hurt!"

"That's for the way you spoke to me the other day. Speak to me like that again and I'll get out my wooden spoon."

"Yes, Mama."

I giggled and took Carlos's hand. It was time to go let the rest of the family congratulate us.

A/N: I never knew there were meanings behind the number of roses. I was looking to see if there was a specific color (besides red) that would say "please forgive me for being a jackass" and instead found a link about the number of flowers meaning something. When I saw that 14 roses meant "I'm proud of you" and 15 meant "I'm sorry," I knew I had to use that.

This brings an end to my first foray into writing FanFiction. Thank you to everyone that left a review or favorited or followed this story. I especially enjoyed reading all of your reviews. You made this a very fun experience.


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